Finding Tomorrow
by The Prettiest Frog in the Pond
Summary: .AU. .Sequal to Escaping Yesterday. Life is beginning to return to normal for Envy, Ed and Al after the incident wih Dante- but with the police sniffing around investigating her murder, it looks like it might not stay that way for long...
1. The Three Elrics

_Sorry, sorry, sorry! I took waaaay to long to get around to writing this... but I've started it at last, and you can expect daily updates from now on unless life gets in the way._

_It begins a few months after 'Escaping Yesterday'. I own nothing._

* * *

"Pipsqueak, are you coming or what?" Envy yelled. He was rewarded with an incoherent yell about quarks, and he snickered.

Alphonse sighed. "You know, if you bait him, he'll only get distracted shouting at you."

"But it's fun!"

The youngest Elric rolled his eyes, choosing to ignore his eldest brother. "Brother, hurry up, or we'll go without you!" he called down the hall.

"I'm coming Al, just wait a minute!"

It was five minutes when Ed finally emerged, hair in a slightly scruffy braid (his hair had never been long enough to braid when he'd had both hands, and he still hadn't quite mastered the skill yet), his ever-present gloves and long clothes concealing the metal limbs. The Rockbells had, after using him as their guinea pig, made their work public and had been given a grant. They had given him a brand new, more efficient set as thanks for allowing them to test it on him, and he'd had more than one doctor come to see how well he was reacting to the new technology.

"Took your time, shrimp. Come on, we'd best get going. The old man's expecting us."

* * *

It was only a short walk to Hoenheim's house. The place was habitable, but that was about all that could be said of it: it was definitely a fixer upper. Still, most of the furniture was unpacked by now, even if everything else remained lost to the endless cardboard boxes that were piled haphazardly around the house.

"Ah! Boys!" Hoenheim said cheerfully. "Is it that time already? I must've lost track..." he mumbled. "Come in."

They were guided through the boxes to the living room. "I'll get you some drinks. Is tea alright? I could probably dig out some lemonade, but it's a little hectic at the moment..."

He'd only moved in a couple of weeks ago, and everything was still rather disorganised. Alphonse had come over most days to try and help out, and even Envy and Edward had chipped in, but it was still in need of work. Hoenheim didn't seem to mind too much though.

He disappeared into the kitchen, leaving the boys perched on a variety of mismatched chairs. He soon returned with a tray of tea.

"So... how are you all?" he asked, a little awkwardly. None of them had quite got into the hang of 'family' yet.

"We're fine," said Al, persevering bravely against the forces of uncomfortable silences. "Ed had another scientist wanting to look at the automail though, he's getting rather tired of that... but Winry says they're installing the first sets on other, um, amputees next week, so they'll probably stop asking then. Envy's feeling better about the... Dante, you know. And Ed says I can get a cat if I want!"

"Really, Edward?" asked Hoenheim, deliberately skirting around the mention of Envy's issues. "I thought you were opposed to the idea."

"I _am._" Edward said grumpily. "But he kept pestering me about it, so... yeah, we're getting a cat."

"A kitten!" Al grinned. "Right, brother?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure, whatever you want." he grumbled. Hoenheim smiled.

"So, how are you, Dad? Is the unpacking coming along well?" asked Al, turning back to his father, who nodded.

"I found my photographs at last, and I was sorting out the books when you boys got here."

Envy, who had been uncharacteristically silent up to this point, snorted. "You've found books and photographs, but you still haven't got the kettle out yet? Surely you've gotten fed up of boiling water up in that saucepan, old man."

Hoenheim frowned. "Yes, I have no idea where that's gone... but Alphonse found the microwave for me yesterday, and the toaster." he nodded at Alphonse. "Thank you for that, Alphonse, it's really been very useful..."

They chatted inanely for a good while longer, before turning to unpacking some of the boxes that littered the house. Envy uncovered the missing kettle, while Alphonse and Edward dug their way through a few boxes of assorted junk. It was mid afternoon by the time they headed home for a rather late lunch.

Gradually, life was beginning to go back to normal. Sure, they had occasional... _problems_, but for the most part, they were finally beginning to feel that they could leave the paranoia and fear they had lived with for the past few months behind them.

* * *

Edward stood up to put his plate in the sink. "I've got some stuff to do before we get back to school, so I'll see you guys later." he said.

"Whatever, pipsqueak."

"_**Who the hell are you calling so short they're not allowed to wash up in case they fall in and drown!?"**_ Edward growled, fixing his brother with a glare that could have terrified the very bravest of men. Envy snickered.

Edward snorted angrily, and was about to retort when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," he said, and wandered down the corridor. He opened the door wide to the three strangers responsible for the interruption- two dark haired men, one with glasses, and a stern-looking blonde woman.

"Good afternoon," said the man with glasses. "Is this the Elric residence? I'm Officer Hughes, and my colleagues here are Officers Mustang and Hawkeye. I'd like to talk to Envy Elric, please... I'm afraid it's rather important."

Edward went white.


	2. Police Investigation

_Envy is kind of OOC and spazzy becuase he's stressed. Not because I couldn't get him to act in character. Definitely not, no, no._

_Well, okay... maybe a little bit. But not much, honest!  
_

_I own nothing._

* * *

"Is this not a good time? I'm very sorry, but we need to talk to your... father?" said the man who had introduced himself as Officer Hughes.

"H-half-brother." Ed corrected, doing his best to swallow his shock and appear as unsuspicious as possible. "You... You'd better come in. Excuse me while I get my brother for you." he said, giving them a weak, shaky smile. "Uh... make yourselves at home." he said, leading them into the living room before shutting the door on them firmly and rushing to the kitchen.

"Envy!" he whispered. "Keep quiet, whatever you do. There are three police officers in the living room and they want to talk to you!"

"_WHAT?!"_ Envy hissed back.

"Police officers! In the living room! Want to talk to you!" Edward responded, agitated. Envy looked horrified.

"What do we_ do?" _he asked, desperately.

"Lie. Lie constantly and consistently, and don't do anything suspicious!"

"But- what- but we can't do- what if we slip up? Ed, _I can't do this!"_

"You _have_ to, what're they going to think if you don't? Where's Al?"

"He- he went to his room, but Ed, what are we going to do? We can't do this, we can't!"

"We can't _not_ do it, they're waiting in there right now! I'll get Al, wait right here, I'm not leaving you alone with them."

Had the situation been any different, Envy would've found it funny how protective Edward was being. However, the situation was _not_ different.

Edward disappeared and returned with Al in the space of ten second, obviously in rush. An automail hand gripped Envy's wrist, and he found himself pulled along towards the living room.

Envy looked down at his younger brothers, both watching him with concern and fear written across their faces.

He took a deep breath.

"Y-yeah. Okay. You're right, we have to do this..." he took another, shuddering breath. "Don't act suspicious." he told the two blonde-haired boys, and with that, he opened the door into what he was quite sure would be his own personal hell.

* * *

Maes looked up as the door opened to see two wary blonde teens and a young man with long green hair.

"I'm sorry, this seems to be a bad time... We'd come by another day, but it's rather important." he said, looking over the three with concern. "Why don't you sit yourselves down, and we'll talk about this, okay?"

The oldest boy nodded and took a seat. "Ah... you want to talk to me?" he asked, obviously nervous about something.

"Mr Elric, I'm sorry to say that recently, we found the body of a murdered woman near a small village a good way north of here."

Envy nodded, looking like he wanted nothing more than to have them out of the small flat immediately.

"Mr Elric... Envy... I'm very sorry to have to inform you that your mother has been murdered." he said gently. "We'll do our best to catch whoever did this."

All three boys looked up sharply, eyes wide, suddenly looking less scared and more confused.

"You don't have a suspect yet?" asked one of the blonde boys tentatively.

"I'm afraid the evidence at the scene had been tampered with..."

The emotions that flickered across each face were unreadable to Maes. He almost thought he saw relief, but that couldn't be right... could it? He found himself watching each boy slightly more carefully.

"O-oh. Right. Ah... th-thank you, for informing me. I... uh... I think I need a few moments with my brothers." he said.

"Of course." Maes smiled comfortingly at them. "I understand. We'll wait here." he said, before Roy and Riza could rise from their seats. The two flashed him questioning looks, but stayed where they were as the disconcerted Elrics left the room.

Once the door was shut, Roy turned to Maes with a frown. "What's this about?"

"Don't you think there's something odd about this, Roy?" he asked. "When we showed up at the door, that kid went white as a sheet, and you can't tell me you didn't see how nervous those three were. There's something going on here, Roy."

"Perhaps one of them has done something, and they thought we had come to arrest them?" suggested Riza. "I notice they looked considerably less worried after you told them why we were here."

Maes shook his head. "No... they looked considerably less worried when I told them we didn't have a suspect."

Riza's eyes widened, and even Roy, whose facial expressions were usually restricted to serious, annoyed and smirking, looked shocked. "You think that one of them...?"

Maes shook his head. "I don't _know._ But there's definitely something weird about this, and I'm pretty sure it's related to this case."

Riza nodded slowly. "I think you may be right."

Roy looked between the two for a moment. "I think," he said, "We should investigate this a bit further before we make any assumptions."

"But you're agreeing to investigate, which means that on some level you agree with me!" Maes grinned. Roy rolled his eyes. Riza sighed.

"Shut up, Maes." said Roy. Beyond the closed door, the Elrics breathed a sigh or relief, unaware of the police officers' suspicions.


	3. Suspicion

_Chapter three! And I can't believe I forgot to say thanks for reviewing last chapter, so I'll say it now: Thanks! _

_I own nothing._

* * *

"Hey Roy, according to the neighbours they went missing a while back. They only came back last month. And they estimate that the victim was killed in that time period..."

Roy frowned. "That's... odd."

"Odd is one way of putting it. And I did some research last night, too- there are some rumours that those boys were being targeted by a gang, and, well, considering our victim's history..."

"She was a gang member?" asked Roy. Maes sighed.

"Not just member, Roy. She was the head of a small but... influential group. They were involved in a lot of crimes, but nobody ever caught them. Everything I've dug up on Dante Bolton says that she wasn't one to cross, at all. And Envy Elric is her son, you know."

Riza nodded. "You think he upset her somehow."

Maes shrugged. "Maybe. Kids can be frustrating sometimes." he said... and then, suddenly, he grinned.

Roy paled.

"But not my darling Elysia, of course! Roy, you have to come and see her, she's getting so grown up! Just look at this photograph, isn't she adorable? And-"

Riza sighed, and slipped out of the room, leaving Roy to deal with his friend's babbling all by himself.

* * *

Belle Marlowe, formerly known as Lust, dropped the last coin into the payphone and waited patiently for the phone to connect.

_Ring ring. Ring Ring. Ring-_

"_Hello?" _came a tired voice.

"Edward Elric," she said. "This is Belle Marlowe."

"_Er... who? I'm sorry, I don't think-" _

"Lust," she interrupted him. "It's Lust. I want to talk to you about Dante."

"_Dante! The police-"_

She cut him off again. "I know. I tried to stop them from finding the body, I failed. I managed to destroy most of the evidence, and what's left shouldn't be enough to convict anyone, but they found the body before I could remove it. I was hoping they'd be unable to identify it, or that they wouldn't make the connection between her and you, but..." she trailed off.

"_Oh." _came Edward's voice again. _"Wait... you said you destroyed the evidence?"_

"Most of it, certainly. The rest of it will be too damaged to be of use to the police."

"_I... I see." _he said. _"They came to tell us that she'd been found murdered because of Envy's relationship to her. They don't have a suspect yet. If the evidence is destroyed, then that's good- they can't do anything now, right?"_

"They shouldn't be able to, no, but I may have missed something. Elric, listen to me. You need to get your stories straight, all of you, your father as well, and make sure there isn't a single hole. I'll make sure the other gang members don't rat you out, but be on your guard, understand? Dante had friends in high places, and if they ever find out you and your family had something to do with this... they will not be happy."

She heard him gulp on the other end of the phone. _"I understand. Um, Belle, right? I... thanks. Um... if you don't mind me asking... you said you were with Dante because you wanted something. I mean, if it's not personal or anything, I just thought maybe..." _he shut his mouth, and she could tell that he was embarrassed, even over the phone. _"Forget it. I'm sorry for asking."_

For a moment, she didn't answer him. She bit her lip.

"I... I was looking for somebody. Dante told me she would help me find him." she nearly whispered the words, her voice hoarse. "It doesn't matter. He's probably dead."

She hung up the phone on Edward's concerned voice, ignoring the coins that rattled down into the collection drawer with a clatter, and turned to face the small, round man behind her.

"Come on, Jordan." she said to the former Gluttony, "Let's go." And she swept off down the street, her dim-witted companion trailing in her wake.


	4. Research

_New chapter! I like this story, it's fun to write. Hopefully you're enjoying reading it, too! Not a particularly exciting chapter, but I need to give my favorite officers a reason to continue the case, so..._

_As always, I own nothing._

* * *

It had been a day since they had informed the Elrics of Dante's death, and now, to satisfy Maes's suspicions, they were stuck in Roy's office at the police station while Maes fetched anything he thought might be useful.

He returned from his search, and dumped a stack of files on the table in front of Roy, who automatically groaned. Riza gave him a warning look.

"I got these from Sciezka- they're all the cases which Dante has been involved in or suspected of being involved in during the past ten years. There were more, but I decided anything older was unlikely to be related to the case, so I left it." Maes grimaced. "Geez, look at this, we'll be here all night. Do you mind if I clock off for a while at eight to put Elysia to bed?"

"Go ahead, Maes, go see your precious daughter while we struggle on- never mind about us." Roy said sardonically. Maes laughed.

"Thanks Roy." he grinned. "I'm glad to hear you're so dedicated to this."

Roy felt a very strong urge to stick his tongue out then. He resisted- it was far too undignified, and Maes would only crack up anyway.

Riza shook her head fondly at the pair. "All right, let's get started now. We'll start with the most recent ones- here you go, you two, sort though these. Put anything that might be relevant to one side and leave the others."

They got to work, scanning each file as quickly as possible. Every so often, they would make a comment, or add a folder to the slowly growing pile of 'might be relevant'.

Maes whistled softly. "You've got to wonder how she got away with it for so long really," he said. "Murder, extortion, blackmail, robbery, violence, gangs..."

Roy nodded absently. "She certainly had rather loose morals. Why was she never convicted for any of this? There was more than enough evidence to have her put away for life for any of these cases."

Maes shrugged. "She was never caught." and they returned to their silent work.

Time passed slowly. At eight, Maes left to bid his little girl sweet dreams, and he returned an hour later, almost immediately immersing himself in the papers again. It was long and tedious work, reading through each case, sifting through the wordy reports for the useful information and weighing how much merit there would be in pursuing it- was the 'unidentified teenage male, blonde' one of the Elric boys? Which cases were related, and which weren't? They had no idea what they were really looking for- they were just searching and hoping that they'd find something, anything, to help them understand what was really going on.

It was several long and boring hours later that they finally uncovered their diamond in the rough, as it were. Roy had just put another file away when Riza gave a sharp, surprised gasp.

"Hm? What is it?"

"I was wandering why the name Elric seemed so familiar in connection with Dante..." she murmured. "I can't believe I forgot. Roy, we had a case with them almost six years ago. She- that is, Dante- cut the brakes in Trisha Elric's car, severely injuring both Trisha and her ten-year-old son." she scanned the report silently. "Trisha was released from hospital with no permanent injuries, but it seems that Edward had to have two limbs amputated. I can't believe I forgot!"

Roy nodded. "I do remember, now. The Elric family... damnit, I should've realised it sooner."

"Well, it was six years ago," said Maes lightly, "And we've found it now. Pass it here, Riza."

He read through it silently, a light frown on his face.

"Hm," he murmured. "If Envy really did kill her, then d'you think this could be the motive?" he pondered aloud.

Roy shrugged. "Now that you've brought it up, I remember quite a bit about that family, and Envy didn't seem particularly fond of his brothers or his step-mother, from what I remember- although they do seem to have grown closer over the years."

Maes nodded. "That would make sense... I'd say Envy's probably been looking after his brothers on his own for a while. The neighbours said they've been living in that flat for about five years, and I doubt they'd be able to fit more than three people in there, so presumably that's how long they've been alone... but what happened to the parents?"

"I'll find out," said Riza, rising from her seat- and then she glanced at her watch, and raised an eyebrow. "That is, I'll find out tomorrow. I didn't realise what time it was."

Maes and Roy both checked the time. Maes whistled. "That late already? Damn, Gracia will be worrying. I'll see you tomorrow Roy, Riza."

"Goodnight Maes," Riza said. "And the same to you, Roy. Be here early tomorrow."

"Yeah 'night Riza." he yawned. "Damn, it really is late. I'd best be getting home too..."

And with that, all three officers returned to their cars, thoughts of the case still weighing heavily on their minds.


	5. Questioning: Hoenheim

_Here's another chapter- I should warn you that tomorrow there may not be an update as I don't know if I'll be able to access the internet. I'll do my best though. _

_I own nothing._

* * *

It was eight thirty in the morning when three police officers showed up on their doorstep to escort the Elrics to the police station for questioning. It was nine when they arrived, and to their surprise, there waiting for them was their father.

"Dad?" asked Al, just as Edward and Envy said, "Old man?"

"Good morning, boys," said Hoenheim, "So you're here too, are you?"

Edward twitched. Alphonse laid a restraining hand on his brother's shoulder before turning to his father once more.

"But why are you here? Are they questioning you about Dante too?"

Hoenheim nodded. "It would seem so." he gave a quick shrug, and was about to say more when they were interrupted by a black-haired police officer.

"The Elric family?" she asked, and they nodded. "I am WPC Ross. I'm afraid you have to be questioned separately, so if Hoenheim Elric would follow me, please?"

Hoenheim rose, and the officer smiled. "Thank you," she said, and led him out of the room.

* * *

"Mr Elric, I am Officer Maes Hughes, and these two are officers Riza Hawkeye and Roy Mustang. We'd like to ask you a few questions concerning the recent death of Dante Bolton, please answer them truthfully and as fully as possible."

"Of course," Hoenheim replied. "Ask away, officers."

Maes smiled. "That's great. Alright, first of all, where were you between the first and the eighteenth of august?"

"I was on a camping holiday with my three sons. We had not seen each other for several years, and it was intended as family bonding time..." he smiled sheepishly. "It didn't go particularly well."

"I see." Maes nodded. "And why hadn't you seen your sons in so long?"

Hoenheim's cheery expression faded into one of remorse. "I made a foolish decision," he said. "Officers Mustang and Hawkeye- do you recall the incident with my wife's car? I believe you were the ones who questioned me that time."

Roy nodded. "We do. In fact, we'd like to talk to you about that, but first, the reason you left your family...?"

"Of course. Well, the reason Dante targeted my wife was because of jealousy... you are of course aware that we had a relationship at one time, and Envy is her son? Good. Dante never quite accepted rejection... I was afraid she would target my family again, so I left, hoping that if she thought Trisha was not a threat she would leave her and my sons alone."

"And did she?" asked Riza.

"She did," Hoenheim nodded. "They were not targeted again."

"So why did you return?" asked Maes, eyes glinting behind his glasses.

Again, Hoenheim looked suddenly older than he should, sad and weary. "Because Trisha died." he said softly. "Almost three years ago, now- five years after I left. I only found out recently."

"You weren't worried that your sons would be targeted after your return?"

Hoenheim laughed, but there was not a trace of humour to it. "No. She saw Trisha as a rival for my affections, and once Trisha died, there was no reason to target my family anymore."

Riza nodded. "I see." she glanced down at the notepad on the desk before them. "Would you mind telling us about your previous relationship with Dante?"

Hoenheim nodded. "We dated for a few months before she moved in with me, and she lived with me for the next three years." he sighed, softly. "It was some time into the second year that I began to notice her odd behaviour, but I dismissed it... however, as time passed, she became increasingly possessive and disagreeable. She was jealous and often accused other women of flirting with me... she also often stayed out late, sometimes not coming back for days or even weeks. The third year she lived with me, I heard her talking to a member of her gang over the phone... I did some investigation and found that she was heavily involved with criminals."

He shut his eyes for a moment, and leant back in his chair. "I should've reported her, but I couldn't do it. I didn't want to believe that the woman I'd been dating was... I'm sure you understand. Well," he laughed grimly, "I hope you do, anyway. I confronted her about it, but she didn't seem to understand why I was upset. We could not agree- she would not leave her criminal lie behind her, and I could not condone it. I told her to get out or I would call the police, and she left, fuming. She returned several months later with a baby- our baby." he said, and his face was wistful. "William Daniel Elric."

"William?" asked Maes with a raised eyebrow.

"He had his name legally changed to Envy when he reached eighteen," said Hoenheim with a rueful smile. "He always was rather rebellious in that way. Anyway, she brought him to me, and asked that I take her back... I said no. But the child- well, I couldn't leave him with her. She was a monster in my eyes." he sighed. "I took William in and told her that she wasn't fit to be a mother and to get out of my life. She left, and aside from a few desperate phone calls, I haven't spoken with her since. She did occasionally send gifts to our home for a while, and shortly after Alphonse was born she went as far as vandalising our house... and, well, Trisha's car."

Maes nodded. "Right. Now... according to this, you hired a car recently and didn't return it. Can you tell us why?"

Hoenheim looked sheepish. "Well, I, ah... I lost it, you see."

"You lost it?" Roy raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," Hoenheim nodded, still looking embarrassed. "I honestly have no idea how it happened... I mean, I do have a tendency to be absent-minded, but it was the first time I'd lost something like a car."

"And why didn't you tell the hire company what had happened?"

"Well, if you must know... I was embarrassed. I mean, it's rather silly, isn't it? I realise I should've said something, and I did mean to, but I could never quite pluck up the courage. It would be a rather awkward conversation, after all... how do you tell somebody you've lost their car?"

Roy fought the urge to question the man's sanity. "I... see. Well, we're going to have to ask you to contact the hire company when you have the opportunity to, Mr Elric."

"Yes, I understand." he gave them another sheepish smile. "I apologise for the trouble. Do you have any other questions."

Maes looked at him thoughtfully. "Not... not presently, no. We may have to call you in at a later date, though, but for now you can leave."

"Thank you, officers." he said, and rose from his seat. "Is it okay if I wait for my sons in the lobby?"

"Certainly," said Riza briskly. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we'd like to get the rest of these interrogations over with. WPC Ross will guide you out."


	6. Questioning: Envy

_Sorry it's up late, I couldn't get near the computer until now. Disclaimer: I own nothing._

* * *

Maria Ross led Envy into the room, and the young man took a seat opposite the three officers. He looked wary, but nowhere near as anxious as he had the first time they'd see him.

_Now, I wonder why that is?_ Maes questioned, but said nothing out loud. Instead, he smiled warmly.

"Hi again Envy. We didn't meet in the most favourable circumstance last time... how are you coping?"

He looked uncomfortable, and shrugged. "Fine, I suppose, Officer... Hughes, right?"

"Got it in one. You remember Mustang and Hawkeye?"

The green-haired young man nodded.

"Great. We just want to ask a few questions, nothing serious. We need you to answer as fully and truthfully as possible."

"Yeah, sure."

Maes smiled again. "Great. Okay, first, what was your relationship with your mother like?"

A flash of emotion crossed Envy's face, but Maes didn't recognise it. "I never knew her," he said. "She dumped me on the old man when I was a baby, I never saw her since. It was a shock to hear she'd died, but... she abandoned me. Honestly, I couldn't care less."

"I see," Maes nodded. "You never saw her, never had any contact with her after that?"

"No."

"Alright then. Now, where were you between the first and the eighteenth of august?"

Envy looked briefly uncomfortable, but it quickly passed. "Holiday with my family."

"What did you do on your holiday?"

"Uh, we camped out... we did a lot of walking too, and travelled around the countryside."

"Why were you on holiday?"

"I don't know, it was Hoenheim's... Dad's idea."

"Do you know what happened to your father's hired car?"

Envy gave him an odd look, and shrugged. "No idea."

"How did Trisha Elric die?" asked Roy, suddenly.

There was a long silence. Envy glared at Roy.

"Why?"

_In case that's a motive,_ thought Roy, but he didn't say it out loud. "Please answer the question."

Envy shrugged, but despite the casual action, he looked tense.

"Alright, but I don't see how this is relevant. She never really recovered after the car crashed... she was... frail, I suppose. That, and stress, left her mentally and physically exhausted. She fell ill, and never recovered."

"And how did you and your brothers cope, without any parents?" Roy questioned.

Once more, Envy glared at him. "Look, is this really necessary for your investigation?"

Maes looked grave. "I'm sorry about this, Envy. You don't have to answer the question... we're just trying to build up a picture of your home life."

"Why?" he asked. "You're investigating Dante's murder, right? What's my home life got to do with it?"

Maes, Roy and Riza exchanged glances.After a moment or two of silent conversation, Riza turned to the young man, who was regarding them edgily.

"Envy, I'm afraid we have... suspicions that you and your family could have been involved in this in some way. We need you to answer all our questions, even if they seem irrelevant."

Envy gave them a tense and angry look.

"Fine," he said. "I... I was shocked, but I got through it because I had to look after Ed and Al. Al was... well, obviously he wasn't happy, but Ed was worse. Al accepted it- I'm not saying he took it well, but he took it better than Ed did. Ed..." he stopped.

"How did Edward take it, Envy?" asked Riza quietly.

"Ed's hot-headed, and he got worse- a _lot_ worse- after Trisha passed away. He was even bad-tempered with _Al_ sometimes... but the person he was most angry with was Hoenhei- I mean Dad. He blamed him for Trisha's death... he says she died of a broken heart waiting for him."

Riza frowned and Roy looked thoughtful, but Maes only nodded. "Okay, I think that's enough for today. Thank you for answering our questions, Envy."

The young man nodded, and was about to stand when he stopped suddenly, looking thoughtful.

"Listen, when you question Ed, could you do me a favour?"

"Envy, we can't-"

"Look, please just listen. Don't talk to him about Trisha, alright? I'd really rather he didn't get himself locked up for assaulting an officer."

The three officers exchanged glances.

Envy rolled his eyes. "Short stuff gets sensitive about his Mum, okay? Al might answer your questions because Al's... Al's _Al_, but Ed won't. If you try and make him answer a question about Trisha and he doesn't want to, he'll blow up at you, and he has _metal limbs_ now. It's not a good idea."

"Well... we'll bear that in mind. WPC Ross will escort you to the lobby." said Riza. "Maria? We're done in here, thank you. Goodbye, Envy."

Envy nodded. "Bye." and he left, accompanied by Maria Ross.

"Well..." muttered Maes. "What do you make of that?"


	7. Questioning: Edward

_Hello again._

_I own nothing._

* * *

Roy glanced up as the door opened to reveal a surly-looking blonde teenager. Edward, having not had the time to grab his usual jacket and gloves, had his automail on display for once, and Roy found himself feeing slightly queasy as the little bit he knew about automail from the reports on the news came back to him.

"Sit down, Mr Elric," said Riza. "We'd just like to ask you some questions, please answer as fully and truthfully as possible."

Edward sat down opposite them and nodded. "Alright. And it's Ed, thanks."

"Okay, Ed. So, can you tell us what you know about Dante Bolton, please?" asked Maes.

Edwards shifted in his chair. "I know she's Envy's mother, and I know she's responsible for..." he tapped his automail arm. "This."

Maes nodded. "Anything else?"

Edward shrugged. "And she's dead. I don't know anything about her, really. The old man dated her, go ask him."

"Right, okay then. Where were you between the first and eighteenth of august?" Maes rattled off the now-familiar question.

"Camping with Al, Envy and the basta- old man."

"You don't like your father very much. Why is that?" asked Roy. Edward stiffened in his chair.

"He left us," he muttered.

"Is that the only reason?"

"Isn't it reason enough?" snarled the teenager. "He left us right after the bloody accident, he left _her_ all by herself to look after us. I was bloody _disabled_, she was ill, she needed all the help she could get and he _still_ left! That's why I don't like him, okay?"

"Okay, Ed, we understand." Maes said soothingly, sending Roy a warning look. "Let's change the subject, hm? Now, we've been seeing a lot about automail in the papers lately, talking about a breakthrough and so on, and we know that it can take a couple of years to get used to- but you've only had it for a little over half a year now, is that right?"

Edward nodded.

"We were just curious as to how you learnt to use it in such a short time."

He shrugged. "I'm a fast learner. Wouldn't you be? I was fed up of not being able to do anything by myself."

Maes nodded. "That's understandable. How do you know the Rockbells?"

"Winry's a childhood friend. Do you really need to know this?"

"Ah, I'm sorry. Just trying to figure something out," he said with a bright smile. "So, can you tell us a little bit about your family, Ed?"

He snorted. "I don't know much about the old man, but I can tell you about Envy and Al."

"Please do," said Maes.

Edward shifted into a more comfortable position in his chair, and leant back a little, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Envy... when we were little me and Al that is, he used to really hate us, constantly fighting and arguing with us, and I don't mean the way brothers fight, I mean he really, honestly hated us. When he was thirteen, he dyed his hair green, dressed like a girl and told us to call him Envy. Mum and the old man wouldn't hear of it at first, but he just ignored them until they did. He still hated us... until the accident."

He paused, and when he continued, his voice was quieter, softer. "After that, he... well, he wasn't _nice_, but he stopped being a jerk. And after Mum died... he looked after us. I know he didn't want to, but he did. He could've just left us, people kept telling him it was okay, he was too young, but he stayed anyway."

_That's... interesting,_ thought Roy. _I didn't think he'd be the type to stick by them like that..._

"And what about Al?" asked Maes.

"Al's the nicest person you'll ever meet," Ed responded almost instantly. "He'd never hurt a fly. He's not bad-tempered like me and Envy, he's forgiving and kind and... he's just... he's _Al._" a soft smile had crept over his face as he spoke, and his voice was warm and fiercely protective. "He's my little brother, and he means the world to me."

Maes nodded. "I'm sure he does. You sound proud of him."

"I am," said Ed. "He's... he deserves better than this, a better family, a better big brother... one who doesn't muck things up for him at school, one who doesn't scare people away and get pissed off about stupid things like my height. He deserves so much better..."

"Edward," Riza's voice was sharp and stern, and the blonde teen's head whipped upwards to look at her. She gave him a rare smile.

"I'm sure Alphonse doesn't feel that way. You obviously love your brother very much, and he would never ask for anyone else."

For the first time, Edward directed a smile at them- not a surly glare or a cautious, considering glance, but a real, genuine smile.

"Yeah..." he said, and glanced away. "You're right, I know he wouldn't... I just sometimes think that... thanks."

Riza nodded. "You're welcome, Edward. Maes, Roy, I think that's enough for now."

Maes nodded. "Alright. We might have to call you in again, Ed, but that's all for today. Thanks for your help, Ed. Maria!" he called.

Maria Ross stepped into the room and offered Ed a smile.

"WPC Ross will lead you out. Bye, Ed."

Edward was guided out of the room by Maria, leaving the three officers on their own.

"That family has not had it easy," murmured Riza.

"No," sighed Maes. "No, it has not."


	8. Questioning: Alphonse

_This is up late because, um, I sort of forgot I hadn't posted it. Heh... you see, I had it finished and edited on time, uploaded it... and then forgot to actually post it. Yeah. Um, sorry about that..._

_I don't own anything._

* * *

Alphonse smiled hesitantly as he took his place opposite them.

"Hello," he tilted his head slightly. "Officers... Hughes, Hawkeye and Mustang, right?"

"Yup," Maes smiled. "We just want to ask a few questions, Mr Elric, and we need you to answer as fully and truthfully as you can."

Alphonse nodded. "Sure. And could you call me Al?"

"Not a problem. So, where were you between the first and the eighteenth of august?"

"First and eighteenth... camping," said the youngest Elric brother thoughtfully. "With Dad, Envy and Ed."

"Okay... what can you tell me about Dante?"

"She messed with the breaks in Mum's car," he scowled slightly, "And she's Envy's mother. I don't really know anything else." he shrugged.

Maes nodded. "I see. Could you tell me a bit about your mother, Al?"

"Why?" he responded immediately.

"I'm afraid that so far your family is one of the few leads we have, and we can't afford not to look into it, Alphonse. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to answer the question." Riza said, as kindly as she could. Al seemed to mull this over for a few seconds, frowning- but after a moment, he nodded, although still clearly reluctant.

"Mum was always kind," he said. "Even when we misbehaved, she never shouted at any of us. I know Envy didn't like her very much, but she loved him just as much as she loved me or brother, I know she did. She was... it's hard to explain."

"Please try."

"She was always there, until she wasn't." he said wistfully. "She took good care of us even though she was sick. What do you want me to tell you?"

"That's enough now, Alphonse. What about the rest of your family?"

"Well, Dad only came back a little while ago, but I know he's sorry for going away when he did. Envy is my half-brother, and he's taken care of us since Mum..." he trailed off. Maes nodded understandingly.

"He acts grumpy about it, but he wouldn't leave us. I know some people say he's not an appropriate guardian for us because of his... age, but he looks after us. And Ed, well, brother is very over-protective," he said with a small grin. "And he acts really rude sometimes, especially if you call him small. But he's a lot cleverer than most people take him for, you know- I've heard his chemistry teacher call him a genius- and he never gives up, ever. They're both good brothers in their own way, even if they argue all the time. They care about each other really, even if they'd never admit it."

"Sounds you three are very close," Maes said. Alphonse nodded.

"We are." he gave a small sigh. "We had to be."

"Because you were alone?"

"Exactly," Al nodded. "We were all we had. We've got Dad now too, of course, but Ed and Envy... well Envy's mostly okay with him by now, but Ed really doesn't like him all that much. I know he tries, but... it's kind of obvious," he gave an awkward laugh. "Especially when he keeps accidentally calling him bastard instead of dad."

"Do you know why Ed doesn't like him?" asked Roy- he knew why from questioning the others, but it didn't hurt to double check.

"Ed blames him for what happened to Mum," Al said softly. "He says that... that he was never there when we needed him. It is true that it was difficult without him," he added. "I mean, Mum struggled for money sometimes and it wasn't always easy for Envy to get a job... people don't tend to think he'd make a good employee." Al explained, tactfully avoiding any mention of why this was- although they could guess. The eldest Elric was certainly rather unique.

"I see. Well, I think we've asked all the questions we need to for today... unless you have any questions?" Maes turned to Roy and Riza, who shook their heads. "Right then. WPC Ross will take you to the lobby, and you can all go home. Please tell your family we're sorry for dragging them in like this," said Maes with his sunniest smile. Al smiled back.

"It's fine. Goodbye, Officer Hughes, Officer Hawkeye, Officer Mustang."

"Goodbye Alphonse. Maria? Could you take him to the lobby, please?"

Moments later, the last Elric was gone.

"A very interesting family, that's for sure." Maes mused. "Hey, Roy?"

"What?"

"I think we should go take another look at the crime scene... I want to check something."


	9. Have you seen?

_Chapter nine. Enjoy! I onw nothign, as always._

* * *

"Maes, what are we looking for?" asked Roy, frustrated.

"To be honest, I'm not really sure," answered his friend. "But there's something here, I'm sure of it. There's more to this case than meets the eye- and more to the Elrics than they let on."

"Maes, they came in, they let us question them, they haven't made a run for it..."

"Camping at the time the murder happened, but they can't tell us where? Come on Roy, that's suspicious."

"And why," Roy asked, annoyed, "would they attack a woman they don't even know?"

"But they _do_ know her, or at least, they know her well enough to want to kill her," Maes said. "She abandoned Envy, she tried to kill Trisha and Edward. I think that could be a motive."

Roy sighed. "But Maes, how would they find her? The police have been hunting her down for years, what resources do they have that we don't?"

"Connections." said Maes. "Hoenheim dated her. That could give him an advantage."

"Alright, fine, fine, I can see why you suspect them. But why are we _here?_"

Maes grinned. "Let's go have a chat with the locals."

* * *

Roy waited impatiently beside his friend as yet another 'local' denied ever seeing either the Elrics or Dante.

"Sorry," she shook her head, "I've never seen them before in my life."

"Ah well," sighed Maes. "Thanks for your help."

"Can we go yet?" asked Roy irritably.

"Not yet," said Maes. "I'm going to ask at the pub over there. Coming?"

"Well, at least they'll have a bar," Roy muttered to himself as he followed his friend across the road.

"No drinking on the job!" Maes called back to him. For a moment, Roy found himself considering how much trouble he'd get in for smacking someone 'on the job', but abandoned his thoughts as they reached their destination.

Maes pulled him over to the bar, and laid his police ID and his photographs out in front of him.

"I'm Officer Maes Hughes of Central Police, and this is my Colleague Roy Mustang. Have you seen any of these people?"

The barkeeper blinked at them for a second before reaching for the photographs, mulling them over with a slight frown on his face.

"Hm," he murmured, "The lady, no," he said, pushing the picture of Dante back across the bar. "These guys look kind of familiar though," he added thoughtfully, spreading the Elrics' photographs out in front of him.

"They do?" asked Maes, giving his friend a victorious grin. Roy ignored him.

"Mm, can't think where from though... give me a minute, would you?"

"That's not a problem, take your time," said Maes.

"Ah!" he said. "Yeah, I remember. They got a room here a good while back, can't recall the exact date. I wouldn't have remembered them at all, but it was weird... when they came in," he pushed the photograph of Hoenheim at them, "He had black hair, but he left with blonde. And this guy," he put Envy's photograph on top, "Well, he came in dressed in some rock band t-shirt with black hair in braids, but he left dressed like a girl with green spiky hair. And these two," he added, pushing forwards the pictures of Edward and Alphonse, "He came in with black hair and glasses, and he came in with dark brown, but they both left looking the way they do in these photographs. I wouldn't have remembered them, but it was pretty weird, so it stuck in my mind." he said with a shrug.

Maes smiled warmly, but Roy knew that behind the friendly face his friend's mind was working away as quickly as it could.

"Really? That's very... interesting. Thank you very much, Mr...?"

"Peter Cass."

"Mr Cass. Could you give us your contact details in case we have anymore questions?"

"Sure," shrugged the man, jotting them down on the notebook Maes passed him. "You mind if I ask why you're after them?"

Maes smiled again, "Nothing important," he said brightly. "We just think they might be able to help us with an investigation of ours. Thank you for your time, Mr Cass. We appreciate it."

"Not a problem, Officers. Drink before you go?"

"No thanks, we're working. Thanks again, Mr Cass, but we'd best be on our way."

Peter Cass nodded. "Sure, I understand. Well, come by if I can help, I work the bar here most days. Bye."

Maes nodded. "Bye, Mr Cass." he gave him another wide smile. "We'll be sure to come by if we need anything else."

* * *

"Okay, you were right, but what are we looking for _now?"_

"Photos of the crime scene," said Maes. "It's months old now, I want to see what it looked like when it was found... ah!"

He dug out the folder he was looking for with a triumphant grin.

"Here we go... hm. I'd say it looks like there was bit of a scuffle, what do you think, Roy?"

Roy took the photograph and looked it over. "Well, I'd say there was definitely more than one person there. Didn't you say she was a gang leader?"

"You think it was a gang fight? How do you explain the Elrics, then?"

Roy shrugged. "Maybe they're gang members too."

Maes frowned at the photographs. "Maybe, but I don't think so... Edward would've had the automail roughly six months at this point, right?"

"Yes..." Roy said, "Why is this relevant?"

"Well, if he was here, then he must've been using it, or there would be the tracks from the wheelchair somewhere. If he was using it, then he's cut the rehab time by a third, which has to be painful. What would drive a kid to do that?"

"I don't know, Maes, you're the one who seems to understand all this. Maybe Riza can help you."

"What if Dante wasn't the victim here?" Maes asked suddenly.

Roy gave him an odd look. "...Pardon?"

"What if we're looking at the wrong crime? She was murdered, but that's just the tip of the iceberg, and the rest of it's still hiding under the surface... what if the murder isn't the mystery here? What if it's just a _clue,_ and we're missing it... There's something going on, something happened there, but what?"

"_I don't know, _Maes. Why don't you go bother the Elrics about it, make them confess?" he muttered- but the sarcasm didn't have quite the same effect as he'd been expecting it to.

Maes nodded thoughtfully. "That... might not be a bad idea, actually."

"What?" asked Roy, exasperated.

Maes grinned. "Get Riza. We're going to see some boys about a murder."


	10. Given a Choice

_Eeh, late update. At least for this story 'late update' only means a couple of days rather than a couple of months... I'm back at school now, so if I miss an update, don't be too surprised. However I promise you I will update once every few days, so you won't be left on a cliffhanger for weeks on end. Also, ridiculously short chapter. Feel free to yell at me.  
_

_DISCLAIMER: I own nothing._

* * *

Riza knocked sharply on the front door to the Elric's flat, Roy and Maes behind her. There was a muffled shout of, "_Al, get the door!"_

Apparently, Al could not get the door, as a few seconds later, the same voice called, _"Shorty, door!"_

A crash followed this, and then a clearly audible yell: _**"WHO'RE YOU CALLING A PIPSQUEAK SO SMALL HE HAS EQUAL MASS TO AN ELECTRON!?"**_

Riza raised an eyebrow. Maes stifled a laugh. Roy smirked.

Finally, the door opened to an exasperated looking Envy. "Hi, can I help-" he began, and then stopped dead.

"-why the hell are _you_ here?" he blurted out, before hastily correcting himself: "Uh, I mean, I thought you'd finished investigating us?"

"Not quite. We're sorry to bother you again, but could we come in?"

"Uh, sure, right this way." he said nervously.

The green-haired young man led them down the narrow corridor and into the living room they'd sat in last time. "I'll be right back, I'm just going to get Ed and Al." he said, and left them.

It took roughly a minute for him to return, half-brothers in tow, but when he did, he looked noticeably calmer. Maes stood, and gave them one of those friendly smiles that meant _I know something you don't want me to know._ "Hi Envy, Ed, Al. Sorry about this, we just wanted to have a quick chat. Won't take long."

"Okay..." Envy said, and the three brothers sat opposite them. "What's this about? Didn't we answer all your questions already?"

"You did," Maes nodded, "But this isn't a formal questioning. We're all off duty right now."

"Then why are you here?" asked Edward, giving them an odd look.

The three officers exchanged glances. Riza sighed, and turned to face the boys. "We think you aren't telling the whole truth, and we want to know what you're hiding."

All three brothers tensed. "We aren't hiding anything," Envy said. "We answered all your questions."

Maes took over. "Listen, we know there's something else going on here. This wasn't just a murder, was it?"

"We have no idea what you're talking about." Envy insisted tersely. Maes continued as if he hadn't heard.

"There was something else going on, and Dante wasn't the victim, was she? She was the one who started all this."

"I'm sure you'd know better than us," Edward ground out. "We have nothing to do with this. If you're not on duty, then why are you here?"

Maes ignored him. "I think she attacked you, and you retaliated. This isn't a murder- it's self-defence, or maybe manslaughter. She was trying to kill _you,_ wasn't she?" Maes gave them a piercing look, and he knew from the way they stiffened as he spoke that he was _right_.

His expression softened. "I'm sorry, but you _need_ to tell us what really happened. I understand why you don't want to, but if you don't tell us we can't help you."

Envy's head snapped up. "Help us?"

"Envy... we _know_ there's something going on. If you don't tell us, we'll have no choice... you and your brothers are under suspicion for the murder of Dante Bolton, and almost definitely guilty of harbouring, aiding and abetting a criminal and concealing information from the police. If you tell us, we can protect you, Envy." he took a deep breath. "We're not here as police officers right now. We're here to help you. But we have to know what happened first."

The Elrics were mute- confusion, surprise, suspicion, fear clear on their faces.

"We'll leave the room for a while, alright? Call us when you've come to a decision." he said, and Maes Roy and Riza stood and moved into the kitchen, leaving the three stunned and bemused boys to themselves.


	11. The Truth

_New chapter! Tomorrow's might be late though, as I have two greek myths and an essay to write for Philosophy, so...yeah. _

_Disclaimer: I own nothing._

* * *

"They could be lying."

Alphonse nodded. "Well, that's true, brother, but I don't think they are. I think they honestly do want to help us."

"And if they aren't?"

"Well... we could plead self-defence. She did try to kill us, and it was her who drew the weapon..."

"So they'll ask us why we didn't report her sooner, accuse us of some other bloody crime!" Edward argued.

"Al's right, Shorty. Besides... you heard him. He knows it all already, so we either tell them and there's a possibility they'll help us, or we don't tell them and I get convicted while you two end up dumped on the old man or in some foster family. We don't really have much of a choice."

Edward 's I'm-not-short-you-bastard glare quickly subsided, to be replaced by a look of indecision. "I guess you're right," he muttered grimly. "We have to tell them."

"So, we're going to explain?" Al asked cautiously.

Envy nodded. "We'll tell them. I'll call them in." he said, standing and making his way into the kitchen.

"Uh, officers? We'd like to talk to you."

Hughes grinned at him. "I told you, we're off duty. I'm Maes, this is Riza and that's Roy."

"Sure," Envy nodded as they followed him back through to the living room. "Before we explain this... it's a long story. Don't interrupt unless it's important."

The three officers nodded, and took their seats.

Edward, Alphonse and Envy exchanged nervous looks, and launched into their story.

* * *

"-while they were fighting, she pulled a knife on him." Edward stopped, and gave Envy a hesitant look.

Envy, although obviously uncomfortable, nodded.

"I'll tell them," he said, voice oddly low. He took a deep breath before beginning to talk.

"When I saw Dante, I... lost control. I wasn't thinking while we were fighting, I was just reacting. You don't know..." he stopped. "You have to understand this: she abandoned me. For years, I watched Ed and Al grow up with Trisha doting on them and although she treated me the same way I could never _believe_ that she really loved me. She treated me like her own son... but I wasn't, and I knew that. I just felt so... jealous, angry, confused, upset... alone. And then when I found out that she'd sabotaged Trisha's car that time, and she sent fucking _gang members_ to kill us... I kept thinking, 'Why does my mother have to be like that? Why couldn't she be like Trisha?' and... when I saw her, I couldn't stop myself. I just attacked."

Maes, Roy and Riza nodded, faces grim but understanding.

"When she drew the knife, I... She was my mother. My _mother_. And yet... she was trying to kill me. When she drew the knife, I knew that she didn't care- she never had and she never would. I wanted her to at least feel some _remorse_, or- or motherly affection... god, anything! I wanted her to show me that it _mattered_ in some way to her, that she gave a damn that I was her son even if she hated me. But she didn't. She really... didn't _care_. I couldn't- I wanted- I just- I grabbed the knife without thinking first."

He shut his eyes, and is jaaw clenched as the memory replayed, as fresh and painful as the day it had happened- and _she _was lying there on the ground, eyes wide with shock, and _bleeding._

"When I could think straight again, she was dead. I never meant to kill her, I just... I don't know what I wanted to do. I never meant... she was my mother. I killed my mother."

He opened his eyes again, and turned to face them, pain and anger sketched across his face.

"I- I murdered Dante Bolton." he said. "We've told you everything. Are you satisfied?"

The silence was stifling. Nobody knew what to say or how to say it, and so instead they stayed quiet, uncomfortable and awkward.

"Envy..." began Maes in a quiet voice. "I'm sorry we made you relive that. I-"

He was cut off by a loud ringing noise from Roy's pocket. Roy gave them all an apologetic look and checked the number- and then he blanched.

He held a finger up to his lips and answered the phone. "Mustang speaking, Sir."

Edward glanced at Maes and Riza. Both looked surprised, and a little nervous, which did nothing to improve his own anxiety.

"But sir, surely-!... Yes, sir. Yes, I understand, but- yes. Yes. No, sir, we haven't, but give us..." he sighed. "Yes. I... understand."

He snapped the phone shut and turned a piercing gaze on everyone else in the room.

"We have a problem." he said. "We have a very, _very_ big problem."


	12. Protection

_This took way longer than it should've done. And it's short. I'm sorry!_

_I own nothing._

* * *

"We're off the case."

Maes and Riza stared at him in shock. "We're _what?!_"

Roy scowled. "Haruko thinks we're wasting time. He's given the case to Archer."

"He gave it to _Archer?_ Why?"

"Archer volunteered for it, apparently."

"Archer volunteered for..." Maes frowned. "Why? What's this case got that would interest him? He's a greedy bastard, why would he- Oh." Maes grimaced. "Oh, _damn._"

"What is it?"

Maes gave Roy a serious look. "Remember we thought Archer was taking bribes, but never found any proof? And remember how strangely he was acting when he heard Dante Bolton was dead?"

Roy's eyes widened. "You think she was bribing him." he murmured in realisation.

Maes nodded. "I've been sure somebody was, I just never found any proof... but it makes sense. He's been more irritable lately, and if she's dead, she's not paying him anymore..."

They were interrupted by Edward. "Whoa, hold up. Are you saying the case has been taken up by someone _on Dante's payroll?_"

Maes grimaced. "I've had suspicions, but never any evidence. However, the way he's reacted to Dante's death..."

"He can't take the case! If he finds out- He's not going to listen to our side of the story, he's just pissed because he's lost his income! _He can't take the case!_"

"Ed, there's nothing we can do! And besides, he hasn't got any proof, he'd have no reason to suspect you."

"Except the fact that _you_ suspected us!"

Maes opened his mouth to say something, and shut it again in the realisation that Edward was right. Archer would have all the files related to the case, and once he found out the Elrics had been questioned, he'd know that they had a link to the case.

Riza was torn. Technically, the boys were guilty... but there was no way in hell they deserved a life sentence, and that would be exactly what they'd get if Archer and his goons were allowed on this case. She had joined the police force because she wanted to protect people.

_Archer just wants his pound of flesh,_ a voice whispered. _That's not justice. Archer will lock them up for killing the woman who was bribing him- a woman who has hurt hundreds of people, who has murdered and stolen and who was trying to __kill__ them._

She made up her mind.

"Don't worry," she said. "We'll do everything in our power to help you."

Edward's head shot up to face her, and in his eyes she could see desperation, fear, and a tiny, cautious spark of hope. "What about your jobs?" he asked.

"I signed up to protect people," said Riza resolutely, "And that's exactly what I'm going to do. I'm sure Roy and Maes feel the same way."

Maes nodded. "I do. You boys were scared and in danger, and what happened wasn't your fault. Roy?"

Roy raised an eyebrow. "You really think I'd throw them to Archer and his dogs?"

The Elrics smiled with relief- but then Alphonse frowned. "But... what if you get found out? It's perversion of justice, isn't it?"

"And letting Archer take the case isn't?" Maes shook his head. "As far as we're concerned, you're innocent. We'll do whatever it takes to prove that, okay? So don't worry."

Riza gave them all a small, kind smile.

"Don't worry, Envy, Edward, Alphonse," she said. "We'll do everything we can."


	13. Not Exactly Legal

_Okay, you know the drill, I own nothing. It's late and I can't think of much to say, so... uh... please review?_

* * *

Frank Archer was not a very happy man.

Police work paid well, but he had become used to the extra financial security provided by Dante's- ahem- 'unrelated gifts'. With Dante gone, the money was gone too. He was suddenly living on budget because some idiot had gone and killed the old hag, and when he found out just who it was, he was going to make sure they understood just how _unhappy_ he was.

He looked over the case file and smirked.

"So, Mustang's been investigating the Elric boys?" he murmured. "Well... isn't that interesting?"

* * *

Roy groaned. After they had agreed to help the Elrics out, Maes had somehow managed to twist the conversation round to his daughter, and the three boys were now sat on their couch looking desperately for some way to escape.

"-Isn't she just he most adorable little angel? She's so _precious!_ Don't you think-"

"Maes."

"-So _cute_ and don't you just want to hug her? Oh, I have to tell you, just the other day she-"

"_Maes." _

"-a little genius, and she's going to be fighting off the boys with a stick when she's older! Oh, and you _have_ to see-"

"_**MAES!"**_

"Aw, don't be such a grump, Roy!" Maes said, smiling brightly. "Now what was I saying?"

All three Elrics paled- and then breathed a sigh of relief as the doorbell went.

"Saved by the bell," whispered Ed with a grin, and stood. "I'll get it."

He opened the door to confront-

_-Police officers?_ he thought. _This is... worryingly familiar._

"Um, can I help?" he asked, as politely as possible.

The pale man on the step gave him a mirthless smile. "Good evening. I am Officer Frank Archer, and my colleagues here are Zolf Kimblee and Shou Tucker. I assume you're Edward Elric? I'm afraid you and your brothers will have to come with me."

* * *

Edward slammed the door to the living room behind him with such force that the hinges trembled.

"That Archer guy," he said urgently. "He's here. Right now. He want us to come with him for questioning."

"What?" Hughes asked, "Damn, I didn't expect him to get to work on it so fast... alright. You three will have to go with him, but don't say anything, okay? Say you refuse to speak without a lawyer, say you've already been questioned, I don't care, but I need time. Alright?"

Envy nodded, shakily. "Don't say anything, okay. But what are you going to do?"

"Something illegal," said Maes grimly. "The less you know, the better. Now get going, before he gets suspicious. We'll let ourselves out once he's gone."

The three Elrics gave each other nervous looks, and then, swallowing their fear, nodded and left the room. Roy and Riza glanced at each other.

"Plausible deniability." Roy said with a shrug. "If we don't see what he's about to do, then we can't testify against him."

"Right," Riza nodded. "We'll be in the kitchen, Maes."

They left, and Maes, finally alone, pulled his mobile phone out of his pocket and dialled a number.

"Hi, Sciezka? I need a favour... yup, the Elric case. It's not exactly legal though..."


	14. Fire in the Records Department

_I would like to take this opportunity to say that I think Sciezka is awesome. And I don't own FMA. Please review!_

* * *

"Ah, Sciezka. I need your help finding some records for me."

"Ah- Oh, I'm sorry, Officer. I'm a little busy here, what with the fire- could you take these a second?"

Archer took the box of slightly charred folders from her, and frowned. "Fire?"

Sciezka nodded. "Yes... haven't you heard? There was a fire in the records department last night. They think it was caused by faulty wiring. What did you need again?"

Archer's frown deepened. "I needed you to look up some records for me. How many of the files were damaged?"

"Well, sir, they got the fire under control pretty quickly, but nearly all of the newer records have been damaged. If it's an older file you were looking for, though, then I might be able to find it for you."

Archer shook his head. "It's the murder case- Dante Bolton." he said.

Sciezka looked thoughtful for a moment- and then shook her head. "Sorry sir, that's one of the ones that was destroyed."

"I see. Is it on the computer system?"

"The wiring problem that caused the fire was from the computer- they're utterly destroyed, I'm afraid." said Sciezka.

"There's no way to retrieve the record at all? Wait- what about your memory, Sciezka?"

"I terribly sorry, sir, but I didn't get round to reading that one." she told him. "I'm sorry to say that any of the records in that fire have been lost forever. I hope it wasn't important."

Archer scowled. "It... No. It wasn't important. But Sciezka, if by chance you do manage to retrieve it, please do tell me. It would be... very helpful."

"Yes sir." Sciezka nodded dutifully. "Oh- I'll take those files back now, sir."

Archer handed her the box of records. "Inform me if you find anything, Sciezka. Now, I must get back to work."

"Goodbye sir, I'm sorry I couldn't help you!" Sciezka called after him. As soon as he was gone, she set down the box and rifled through until she found the file she was searching for- _Case M87905b: Murder of Dante Bolton._ She picked up the phone and dialled a number.

"Officer Hughes? It's Sciezka. I've got those records you were after..."

* * *

"What's eatin' you?" asked Kimblee with an amused smirk on his face. "Those kids still not answering your questions?"

"They haven't said a word," Archer nearly growled, "And the records I need were destroyed in a fire last night. We've got no evidence," he frowned. "We can't keep them here."

Kimblee snickered. "Tough luck. I'll tell Tucker to let them out."

Archer nodded. "We've got no choice." he sighed. "Take them home."

* * *

"Haven't we been through this already?" Envy asked when Tucker arrived. "We're. Not. Talking. We've already been questioned!"

"Ah, yes," said Tucker in a soft, rasping voice. "Yes, of course... I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience... it seems that we're missing a few records, so we're sending you home for the time being."

"You're... sending us home?" Al asked cautiously. Tucker nodded.

"Yes. As I said, we're terribly sorry about this... there's been a problem, we'll have to continue this at a later date, I'm afraid. Please, follow me."

The three Elrics concealed their grins and stood, following Tucker out of the room.


	15. Alibi

_Gah, it's so short, so horribly, horribly short! I suck. School/life/my computer is conspiring against me, which is why this is a) late and b) pathetic. I tried to make it longer, but... ergh. Yeah. I'm really short of time right now, and I figured that this is better than nothing, and next time it will be longer... All I can say is I'm sorry. Disclaimer: I own nothing.  
_

* * *

"The main problem is that you don't have alibis." said Maes. "They can't prove that you did it- but you can't prove that you _didn't_ do it either."

"Well, how are we supposed to manage that?" Envy asked. "We don't have an alibi. Even if we did, it would be a lie."

"Ye-es," said Maes. "But _they_ don't know that, do they? Fight fire with fire- Archer's not going to stay legal, you know."

"But- but- what?! Are you suggesting we get _fake witness testimonies?_ If we get found out- you- we- We can't do that!" Alphonse protested. "Where on earth would we find anyone to do that for us anyway?"

Maes gave a sidelong glance at Roy. "You've got some old friends who could help us out, right?"

"Wait! Isn't this a bit, well, drastic?" Edward asked. "Surely there's another way?"

Normally, Riza would never have considered forging witness testimonies- it was perjury, after all, and could lose her her job- but in this particular case, it seemed to be the only way forward. She didn't approve, but... well, if it was necessary, it was necessary...

She sighed. "In the situation you are in, it could be the difference between walking free and a life sentence. Now, Roy, Maes was asking if you knew anyone who would help?" she asked.

"Jean Havoc could," said Roy thoughtfully. "And Heymans Breda. They're lawyers... and Kain Fuery, you remember him? Glasses, dark hair, good with computers? Vato Falman would probably lend a hand, and I've got some old girlfriends who might help."

Maes nodded. "That's good... let's say we got Vato to say he stayed at that pub on the date of the murder, and if Kain faked the records to show that you were there at the same time... Jean or Heymans could represent them in court... with planning, there's no reason it wouldn't work."

"Aren't you supposed to be _police officers?_ You know, uphold the law and all that?" asked Envy.

Maes grinned crookedly. "Yup. But we're not on duty right now, are we?"

* * *

"Hm? Well... sure, I'll help out. It sounds like you need all the help you can get." Kain Fuery nodded into the phone. "Elric, huh? And do you need me to get in touch with Heymans, Jean and Vato or have you already spoken to them?"

"_We've already talked," _Roy replied. _"They'll help out. Maes is going to email the story over to you, we just need you to... flesh it out a little."_

"Shouldn't be a problem. I'll get started then."

"_Great. Thanks Kain."_

"Really, it's not a problem, Mr Mustang. I'll see you."

"_Okay, bye."_


	16. Guilty 'til Proven Innocent

_Hopefully this chapter will make up for the last one! I really am sorry about the pathetic shortness of that... but you will be pleased to hear that I've just finished a massive project at school and so I have a lot more spare time now, so it won't happen again! Discaimer: I own nothing._

* * *

Archer scowled at the folder on his desk. He _knew_ what had happened, Pride had told him... but he didn't have any _proof_, and somehow the brats were managing to block him at every turn. He knew the witness statement was a lie, the records forged- but there was no damn _evidence!_

He scowled again.

"Something wrong?" Kimblee asked, an amused smirk on his face. "Still having problems with the Elric brats?"

Archer did not deign to answer.

"You know, you could always just... bypass the rules."

Archer looked up sharply. "Oh?"

"They're suspects in a murder case... what if they made a run for it? Then justice would _never_ be served. Or they might be targeted by the old bag's gang... they really should be in protective custody." Kimblee shrugged. "Not that it matters to me."

A slow smirk spread across Archer's face as he realised what Kimblee was implying. "Oh, no, I think you're absolutely right." he said. "We wouldn't want anything _unfortunate_ happening."

"If you say so." Kimblee grinned. "I'll get Tucker."

* * *

There was no time to react.

They had broken the door in and marched through the flat. The Elrics were trapped: go with them peacefully, or be charged with assault on top of murder, perjury and harbouring a criminal.

"It's for your own safety," they were told. "Word may have got out that you are suspects, and you may be targeted- and if you did murder her, we wouldn't want you trying to make a run for it before you could be brought in."

They were backed up against the wall, with no choice but to do as they were told. As Maes Hughes, Riza Hawkeye and Roy Mustang watched, the Elric brothers were lead away in handcuffs.

* * *

"This isn't _legal_, Archer. The younger Elrics aren't even old enough to drink yet, let alone be _jailed!_" Roy was furious.

"Murder isn't legal either, Mustang. This is not your case any more." Archer said calmly, not even looking up from his desk. "Leave. If the Elrics brothers are innocent, then they have nothing to fear; I merely want to make sure they are under our protection at all times. It was easiest to bring them here."

"They're in _prison cells,_ Archer! What happened to innocent until proven guilty? Release them _now!_"

"No." Archer looked up from his paperwork. "If I may remind you again, this is not your case_,_ Mustang. It is no longer under your control. You should consider yourself _extremely_ lucky that I don't report your actions to Commander Hakuro- I'm sure he'd be _very_ interested to hear that you and your team were found in the Elrics' flat when they were arrested. I wonder why? Care to explain, Mustang?"

Roy grit his teeth. "We were _investigating._"

"Oh?" asked Archer. "How interesting. And why, may I ask, were you investigating _my case?_ Surely you have your own work to do."

"Actually, we haven't been assigned a new case yet. We merely wanted to clear a few things up with the Elric brothers- like their alibi, which you have in front of you, and which you _still_ refuse to acknowledge. They are _innocent._ You can't go round arresting innocent people!"

"They are not innocent until they are proven to be so, Mustang."

"Then they aren't guilty either!"

Archer stayed infuriatingly calm. "They will remain where they are, Mustang. You have no control over this case anymore, and whether you like it or not- _they are not leaving._ Now, get out of my office."

Roy's fists clenched. "Fine," he spat, "But don't think you've heard the end of this, Archer."

* * *

The cell was small; a bare, dreary concrete room with a barred window and a heavy door. The bunk he would sleep in was narrow and uncomfortable, the chair and table both dull, hard steel and bolted firmly to the floor, the toilet, shower and sink cracked and stained.

Envy drew his knees up close to his chest and wrapped his arms around himself, shivering. It wasn't that he was cold- the cell was warm, if little else- but now, for the first time since this whole ordeal began, he felt utterly alone. Edward and Alphonse were in different cells, no longer there to support him or comfort him when he needed them to, no longer there to reassure him that he'd done the right thing, that it would all turn out alright in the end.

"Pipsqueak," he yelled uncertainly. "Al?"

There was no answering rant, no concerned call. There was not even an echo in response. Wherever they were, they couldn't hear him.

_You're guilty,_ murmured a voice in his mind. _This is all your fault. They wouldn't even be here if it weren't for you. You're guiltyguiltyguiltyguiltyguilty..._

_She was your __**mother**_, whispered another voice, malicious and cruel.

He curled himself up even tighter, and softly, quietly, all alone in his tiny cell, he began to cry.

* * *

_Clack. Click. Clack._

Edward wandered to and fro in his cell, automail bare, clattering against the floor. They'd considered taking it away from him when they first arrived, in case he used it as a weapon- it was only thanks to the intervention of WPC Ross that they had let him keep it. He was grateful to her- he'd have gone insane if he was stuck in here, forced to hop or crawl whenever he needed to leave his bed. Being imprisoned was bad enough without being humiliated as well.

_Click. Clack. Click._ He wandered how Al was doing, if Envy was okay. If they hurt his little brother- or his older brother, for that matter...

_Clack. Click. Clack._ He wandered if they'd get out of here- or if Archer would keep them here forever.

* * *

Alphonse sat on his narrow bunk, swinging his legs. He hoped Edward was behaving- knowing him, he'd pitch a tantrum at an officer and get himself in maximum security or something. He hoped Envy was okay- he'd been pale as a ghost when they were arrested. He wandered what Mr Hughes and his friends were doing about it- he knew they wouldn't abandon them. After all the trouble they'd gone to, just to keep them safe- he was sure they were trying to get them out right now.

He was sure. Absolutely sure. Not worried in the least. He trusted them, Mr Hughes, Mr Mustang, Ms Hawkeye- they would be fine. They _would._

He swung his legs a little harder, kicking up dust.

They were fighting to get them out right now. Or at least, he hoped they were.


	17. Freedom

_I was going to make Olivier Armstrong (from the manga) Roy's boss, but I decided not to because a) this may be AU, but it is based off the anime, not the manga, and b) Olivier's not stupid enough- she'd have noticed Archer being bribed and fired him, and then I'd have no villain. So you get Hakuro instead. Disclaimer: I own nothing.  
_

* * *

Roy knocked was having difficulty keeping his voice down as he talked to Hakuro's secretary.

"Yes, Miss Baker, I _understand_ that he is very busy. Yes, Miss Baker, I realise that he cannot spare time for every petty issue. But this is a direct violation of everything the police force stands for and I _insist_ that you let me see him!"

"Officer Mustang, I'm very sorry, but it simply isn't possible right at this moment. If you'd like to take a seat and I can pass your message on..." she said disinterestedly.

"Miss Baker! I have to-"

"What do you want, Mustang?" Commander Hakuro, just coming out of his office, interrupted their argument.

Roy jerked round to face him, surprise written across his face. "Sir!"

"Come in, Mustang." Hakuro held the door open for the younger officer and then sat down behind his desk. "Now, what is a 'direct violation of everything the police force stands for'?"

"I have a complaint about Officer Frank Archer, sir. Are you aware that he has imprisoned three suspects?"

"Yes, Mustang, I am. He informed me that he had three suspects in temporary custody, for their own protection and also because he believed that they were likely to run. It is unusual, but considering the circumstances, I have allowed-"

"Sir, forgive me for my interruption, but his _suspects_ are three boys, two of them minors, who have almost no connection to the case, not to mention all three have alibis. They have almost no connection to this case whatsoever."

Hakuro raised an eyebrow. "He told me that you had had them in for questioning, too, Mustang. Are you sure they have no connection?"

"I brought them in for questioning, not as suspects, but as the family of the victim- the eldest boy is her son. There is no reason to believe they had anything to do with her death!"

"I see," said Hakuro with a frown. "Well, I'm sure it's all a misunderstanding, but still, I am shocked to hear that such one of my officers has made such a grave mistake. I shall talk to Archer about his handling of the case immediately. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Mustang- you can leave, I'll have this sorted out."

Mustang nodded, concealing his smile behind a blank mask. "Thank you, sir." he said as he left the room. He made his way back to his own office with a smirk on his face- the Elric brothers would be out of there in under an hour.

* * *

Envy awoke to a strange sense of déjà vu, lying on his side on top of the grey blanket. He sat up and gazed around the cell, feeling vaguely confused.

_I must've fallen asleep,_ he thought. _According to that clock, I've only been here a couple of hours... unless of course I slept longer than I thought and it's eight in the morning rather than the afternoon. Damn, how do you tell?_

Getting to his feet, he discovered that a small parcel had been left on the table, containing a hairbrush and a toothbrush, a few toiletries, a flannel, and a shapeless jumpsuit.

_I suppose they'd have woken me up for breakfast if it was morning,_ he thought, inspecting the toiletries. He hoped they were out of here before he needed to use them: they smelt clinical and reminded him of hospitals, and the toothpaste had an odd, gritty texture.

He was about to go in search of something to do when he heard footsteps and low conversation outside his cell, followed by the jingle of keys. Suddenly alert, he faced the door, and not long afterwards it was opened by Riza Hawkeye and Maes Hughes.

"Come on," said Maes, grinning. "Let's get you out of here already."


	18. Fingerprint

_Um. I haven't updated in ages. I suck._

_I own nothing._

* * *

Frank Archer was in a very bad mood.

Why did Mustang have to make this so goddamned _difficult?_ The Elric brothers were guilty, if anything, the man should be helping him! He didn't understand. Mustang wasn't averse to the occasional illegal action if it got him what he wanted, he knew that, but surely he wouldn't consort with _murderers_ just to piss him off- unless he really did think they were innocent, but even then, why all the fuss?

He looked over the report on the crime scene- one of the only records that hadn't been damaged in the fire- with a scowl, searching for _anything_ that would connect the Elrics to the case, or at least merit further investigation. They were practically _kids_ for god's sake, there was no way they could have destroyed all the evidence. Not without help, anyway- but who the hell would help them? One of the hag's gang? Unlikely, he supposed, but possible. That might also explain the false alibis, but there was no way to prove it!

In his anger, he nearly skimmed right over it, but something made him stop. He read the sentence through again, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

_Fingerprint found on knife handle, probably belonging to the killer- damaged and unclear, unusable._

Archer frowned at the word _unusable,_ but flipped to the appropriate page in the report for a better look at the print. Sure enough, it was badly smudged- it could have been almost anyone's, in fact.

But it was _there_.

Until he found something more... concrete, it would serve, he thought with a smirk, and picked up the phone.

"Tucker?"

There was a sharp breath on the other end of the line, and then Tucker's scratchy voice replied, "Sir?"

"We took prints when we brought the Elrics in for questioning, didn't we?"

"Let me just see... yes, we have the Elrics in the database."

"Good," said Archer, and his smirk widened. "Keep it open. I want to check something."

With that, he put the phone down and swept up the file, making his way down to the lab where Tucker was waiting. "Here," he said, passing the incomplete print to Tucker.

Tucker frowned. "Sir, this print could be anyone's, if I run it through the database I'll get dozens of matches- there's no point..."

"I don't want you to run it through the database. I want you to compare it to the Elrics' prints, and _only_ the Elrics' prints."

Tucker frowned slightly, an unreadable look on his face, but he took the file. "Yes, sir. I understand."

Archer waited impatiently as Tucker shuffled away with the file. It was several long minutes before the man returned.

"Sir, the print was a partial match to Envy Elric, but..." Tucker trailed off as his superior smirked.

"Excellent. Thank you, Tucker." he said.

_The print will do for now_, he thought. _Hakuro can't object, not if I've got evidence... provided he doesn't check the print, I'll have plenty of time._

* * *

To say that Envy was unpleasantly surprised would be an understatement. He had just returned from the local shop to be confronted by three police officers on his doorstep- for the _third_ time that week.

"Envy Elric, you are under arrest as a suspect for the murder of Dante Bolton. You have the right to remain silent, but anything you do say will be taken down and may be used as evidence against you."

"This is getting _ridiculous,_" Envy said, furious, "Haven't we been through this already? _We haven't done anything wrong. _You can't lock us up without proof!" he yelled, masking his fear with anger.

Archer's eyes narrowed. "There is no _us,_ Mr Elric, your brothers are free to go. And as far as proof goes..." he gave a cold smile.

Envy swallowed, his throat dry. _Proof...?_ _They can't have..._

"A fingerprint was found on the murder weapon that is at least a partial match to yours. If you are innocent, I can assure you, you have nothing to fear, but I'm afraid we'll have to keep you in police custody until that is proven." said Archer, and the way he smirked, it was quite clear that he _knew_ Envy was guilty.

"Bastard-" he began, and then stopped, cutting himself short. _Anything you do say will be taken down and may be used as evidence against you,_ echoed Archer's mocking voice in his head. "Don't you need a warrant, or something? Last time you dragged us off, it was illegal. I'm not going through that bullshit again."

Archer smirked. "I have no intentions of repeating my previous mistakes, Mr Elric. I assure you, this is _entirely_ legal." he held out a white envelope. "Here is your warrant- for the arrest of Envy Elric, under suspicion of murder."

Envy scanned the warrant, feeling rather desperate. _I don't want to go back there! It was fucking bad enough the first time, this time... what if they find their proof? What if I never get out?_ _What about Ed and Al, I promised Trisha... _

"And what about my half-brothers?" he asked. "What will they do while I'm in police custody?"

"Ah, yes, Edward and Alphonse Elric. They can choose to stay with either their closest living relative- your father, in this case- or they may stay in a children's home or with foster parents. You don't need to worry, they won't be separated." he said with a thin smile.

"Can I see them?" he asked.

Archer gave him a condescending smile.

"I'm terribly sorry, Mr Elric, but that won't be possible. I'm afraid if you don't come with us, we will have no choice but to use force, and you may be charged with resisting arrest."

Envy stared at him.

"Mr Elric?"

"...I'll come," Envy gave in, seeing no other choice. "But can't I just tell them what's going on?"

"Your brothers will be alerted. Please hold your hands out."

Envy tried not to wince as the handcuffs were locked onto his wrists, and as he was led down to the patrol car, only one word was going through his head:

_Fuck._


	19. Archer's Offer

_This is officially my favorite chapter._

_I own nothing._

* * *

Envy swore that this was the same cell he'd been in last time.

Unless, of course, they were all identical, in which case it was entirely possible he was in a different cell...

_Christ,_ he was bored.

He had been in the cell since six in the evening, and it was now noon. The night before, he had been nervous and panicked, but now... ennui was already beginning to set in. Hour upon hour upon end of _the same goddamned concrete wall_ was beginning to get to him.

He wandered what Ed and Al where doing. He guessed they'd probably been shipped off to the old man's place... unless Ed had kicked up a fuss and landed them both in a children's home.

Envy lay back on his bed, only to be startled by the sound of a key scraping in the lock of the door. He turned his head towards the sound just in time to see Archer step through, Kimblee at his side.

"Mr Elric," said Archer, a thin, insincere smile on his face. "We'd like to have a little... talk."

* * *

Edward sat on his father's sofa, opposite Maes Hughes. Roy was sat next a rather nervous looking Hoenheim, and Riza was stood behind Alphonse's chair.

Edward was also absolutely _furious._

"What do you mean, _there's nothing you can do?_" he hissed.

"Ed, please, calm down!" Maes attempted to placate him. "Let us explain. Roy went to Hakuro again, but apparently, this time Archer's got evidence, so there's nothing we can do- for _now._ Please, just trust us- we're not going to leave him there."

Ed grumbled, but settled back, slightly mollified. Alphonse, meanwhile, only looked more worried.

"Evidence?" he asked, nervously. "They've got evidence?"

"If you can call _that_ evidence," Roy snorted derisively. "Maes found a fingerprint on the knife, but there's no way it'll hold up in court. Archer's desperate; he's just using this to buy time."

"There's no need to worry, Mr Elric, Edward, Alphonse," said Riza comfortingly. "We'll get him out as soon as we possibly can."

Alphonse nodded, and although he was still a little pale he looked relieved. Hoenheim gave them all a wan smile.

"Thank you," he said. "I haven't been... I can't thank you enough for looking after my sons while I..." he sighed. "It seems I... I am not much of a father."

"Dad," said Alphonse softly. "That's not true..."

Edward snorted.

"Thank you Alphonse, that means a lot to me. And thank you again, officers Hughes, Hawkeye and Mustang, for protecting them."

Hawkeye smiled. "We believe in justice, Mr Elric, and sometimes one must work... _outside_ the law to achieve that. The legal system can be rather, ah, _inflexible,_ and in complicated cases like this... this is the right thing to do."

Edward stared at her for a couple of seconds, and then looked away. "Yeah, well, even so... I know you could... I mean, you didn't have to look out for us." he said awkwardly.

Alphonse smiled. "I think that brother is trying to say that he's grateful to you for helping us."

Maes grinned. "It's like Riza said, we just want justice- but you're welcome anyway."

* * *

Envy glared stubbornly across the table at the man who was the source of all his current problems.

"Hear me out, please, Mr Elric," Archer said smoothly. "This is important... concerning your brothers' involvement in all of this."

"Don't you listen?" snarled Envy. "I said _none_ of us have done anything wrong."

"Well, no, not wrong, per se. I'm sure you had a good reason for what you did."

Envy growled.

Archer frowned.

"Mr Elric," said Archer, "I am getting very tired of this... _farce,_ so I will be blunt. We _know_ you are guilty. For whatever reason, _you,_ Envy Elric, stabbed Dante Bolton while your half-brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, fought off her gang. They also sheltered you, a _murderer,_ after the... incident. We _know_ all of this, Envy, and the only reason your brothers aren't locked up with you is because I do not want to ruin the futures of two boys who, I'm sure, had no idea what they were getting into. I am willing to offer you a deal, Mr Elric, but if you are not willing to listen, then I will escort you back to your cell and Kimblee and Tucker will go collect your brothers."

Envy's eyes widened. "Wait! Wait, wait, we didn't- this isn't- what deal?"

Archer smiled coldly. "Willing to listen now? Good. Mr Elric, I want you to confess- ah, wait until I'm finished, please- I want a written statement, signed by you, admitting to the murder of Dante Bolton and explaining _in detail_ the circumstances leading up to her death- and _in exchange,_ Mr Elric, I will drop _all_ of the charges against your brothers. They will be free to go, no criminal record, no black mark against their names, free to live out a perfectly normal life without living in the shadow of the label 'murderer's accomplice.'"

Envy stared, slack-jawed, in shock.

"Well, I'll give you some time to think on it, Mr Elric. Kimblee, would you take him back to-"

"Wait." Envy interrupted him. "Wait. I... I want to talk to my brothers."

* * *

"_Pipsqueak?"_

"_WHO ARE YOU CALLING_- wait. Envy?!"

"_The one and only. Seriously, you even do that on the phone?" _

Edward heard a dry chuckle. He ignored it.

"Envy, what's going on? How come you're ringing us?"

"_Ah," _said Envy, becoming serious. _"That. Ed, put me on speaker, okay?"_

"Uh, sure..." Ed pushed the relevant button, and set the phone down on the coffee table so that those gathered round could hear. "You're on. Can you hear us?"

"_Loud and clear. Listen carefully, alright, this is important. Archer... offered me a deal."_

"A deal?" Al frowned. "Envy, what kind of deal?"

"_He offered to drop the charges against you and Ed."_

Roy's brow furrowed. "He _did?_ Wait... what's he asking in return?"

There was silence from the other end of the line.

Edward felt a small ball of fear build in his stomach. "Envy, what's he asking?"

"_He... wants me to confess." _Envy admitted reluctantly.

"What? **No!**" Ed and Al objected simultaneously. "Envy, you can't!"

"They're right, it's a bad idea," said Maes urgently. "Envy, you mustn't do this."

"_But he knows! He's got proof!"_

"He's just guessing! All he's got is a damaged fingerprint, it'll never hold up in court, Envy- listen to us!"

"_But this way, no matter what happens, Ed and Al won't get dragged down with me, and besides- it's fair, isn't it? I- I-"_

"Envy," Maes interrupted quickly to prevent him saying something incriminating. "You haven't done anything wrong, okay? It is not fair, not on you and certainly not on Ed and Al. Listen to us, please, Envy!"

"_But-"_

"Envy," interrupted Edward in a low voice. "Envy, I'm telling you here and now... if you confess, we will too."

"_What?!"_

"I said, if you confess, me and Al will too! I'm_ not _letting you_ abandon _us, Envy!"

"_Listen, pipsqueak, don't you __**dare-**__"_

"No, don't _you _dare, Envy," sad Al firmly. "Ed's right. You always said you'd never abandon us- don't you think this counts? If you confess, _we will too."_

"_You can't! This is insane!"_

"If it's the only way to stop you from being an absolute _moron,_ then so be it," said Ed resolutely. "You go down, we'll bring ourselves down with you."

"_You can't-"_

"My name is Edward Elric and I confess to the murder of Dante Bolton. I-"

"_ED, SHUT UP! What do you think you're doing?! This line is monitored!"_

"Then don't do anything stupid," said Ed with a smirk. "You didn't do anything, and we're getting you out of there as soon as possible, got it? And if you so much as _whisper_ the word 'confession', Al and I will get right down to that goddamned police station to hand ourselves in."

"_Ed, you- you- argh! Pipsqueak, fucking tiny miniscule shrimpy little __**bastard,**__ you hear me? As soon as I get the chance, I'm going to kick your short ass from here to last Thursday, you bloody fucking __**midge**__**t!**"_

Surprisingly, Edward didn't so much as bat an eyelid. "You'll have to get out of jail first. Bye, Envy- see you in court!"

"_DON'T YOU DARE-"_

Edward reached out, and hung up the phone- and then he let out a breath he'd apparently been holding for quite a while. Alphonse gave him a concerned look.

"Brother?" he began- but was he cut off by Ed:

"_**WHO THE HELL DOES HE THINK HE'S CALLING SMALL?! THAT FUCKING BASTARD, WHEN HE GETS OUT, I'LL KILL HIM!"**_


	20. In Court

_Okay, because I am a moron, I have not updated when I should have done. I feel very guilty about this. When I told one of my friends about this, she had an idea: "How about to make up for it, you make the chapter twice as long as usual?" she asked, and so, that is exactly what I've done. Hopefully it will go some way to making up for the lack of update._

_I own nothing._

_

* * *

_"Okay," said Roy, "This is what we're going to do. Archer has no real evidence, and you all have alibis-"

"Fake alibis," muttered Ed.

"Yes, well. If we take this to court, I think we can get Envy out _and_ get Archer off the case."

"Right. What do we need to do?" asked Hoenheim.

"We're going to claim that Archer is harassing Ed, Al and Envy. Archer will claim he only brought them in because we did, so I want you to point out that if that was the case, he would've brought you in as well, which he didn't. Envy will tell the court that he was threatened by Archer."

"Was he?" asked Al.

"The deal he made could be interpreted as a threat, so technically, it's not a lie. Now, Ed, Al, you two are going to be our pity factor. Cry, get scared, do whatever it takes- we want the jury on our side. Ed, I know you don't like to think of yourself as disabled, but you _are,_ and we can use that to our advantage."

Edward ground his teeth a little- he _hated_ the idea of pretending to be helpless- but he nodded his assent. It was to get Envy out; he could deal with acting weak for a while.

"Good. Now, Vato Falman, a friend of mine, will be another witness, and he'll be there to confirm your alibis. Riza, Maes and myself will also be there, describing Archer's treatment of you and why we think it's out of line. Another friend of mine, Heymans Breda, will be representing us as our lawyer."

"Are you sure you can trust these friends of yours?" asked Ed.

"With my life." Roy answered promptly. "You can trust them, I assure you. Any questions?"

"How long will this whole thing take?"

"I'm afraid it could take a couple of weeks to get to court... once it's in court, if we win, Envy will be released immediately, but it's a matter of organising our case, appealing... we'll do it as fast as we can, but there's only so much to be done in a situation like this."

"A couple of-!" Ed began, but was interrupted by Alphonse.

"I'm sure they're doing their best to speed up the process, brother," he said quickly. "Besides, a couple of weeks isn't too long-it could be worse!"

It was true, it could be worse- but nonetheless, it was a very long wait.

* * *

Ed tapped his automail fingers impatiently against the armrest of the chair. He, Al and Hoenheim were all dressed in formal suits, and Ed had forgone his usual white gloves to highlight his 'condition' and garner a few pity votes from the judges.

They had not been idle in the three-week wait before the court date; they had practiced their stories until they knew them by heart, not to mention their acting. They had managed to have a private conversation with Envy to explain what was happening, and everything was finally in place.

Ed looked up as the bailiff, a tall, dark-haired man who had introduced himself as Kray, approached them.

"Mr Hoenheim Elric and Masters Edward and Alphonse Elric?"

"That's us," Hoenheim nodded.

Kray nodded. "This way, please. The hearing is about to begin."

Alphonse took to the stand, trying to look as nervous as possible- considering the way he was feeling, though, it wasn't particularly difficult.

"Do you, Alphonse Elric, swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?"

"I solemnly and sincerely swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." Alphonse repeated obediently, ignoring the nagging voice at the back of his head that said, _no, you don't._

Breda gave him a quick, encouraging smile before the professional look returned to his face. He looked down at his papers, and then up at Alphonse.

"Alphonse, could you please describe to the court the way Officer Archer treated you the first time you met?"

He nodded. "Yes," he said, following the script he had memorised over the previous few weeks. "He arrested us and took us in for questioning."

"And did you answer his questions?"

"No." said Al, truthfully.

"Oh? And why not?"

"Because we had already been questioned regarding the case, and because we wanted to wait for legal advice."

"I see. And did you feel intimidated or threatened at any point?"

_Now, it's time to act, _he thought, and he gave Archer a quick, fearful glance. "Y-yes." he said, playing it up as much as possible. "I was scared. We had already been questioned about the case once, and Archer treated us like we had already been proven guilty... the- the other officers, the ones who questioned us before, told us they just wanted to speak to us as family members of the victim, but Officer Archer treated us like murderers." he gave the jury a wide-eyed look. "I thought- I thought he was going to lock us away!"

Several members of the jury sent glares in Archer's direction.

"I see..." said Heymans. "But he did release you, correct?"

"He did."

"Now... could you describe any other occasions you met Officer Archer, please? Feel free to take a break if you feel you need to... everyone here will understand. Traumatic experiences can be hard to talk about."

_Oh, he's good,_ thought Al. '_Traumatic experiences' indeed._

Aloud, he said, "I- I think I can do it. The second time I saw Officer Archer... he burst into our flat with those two other officers," said Al, "Tucker and Kimblee... they didn't knock. I thought somebody was breaking in, and then they came into the living room and he said..."

"What did he say, Alphonse? Please try and remember."

Al put on his best 'scared kid' face. "He said that if we didn't go with him... he would charge us with assault, as well as murder perjury and h-harbouring a criminal... he told us it was for our own safety, but I didn't _feel_ safe- he put handcuffs on us and he separated us and put us in the cells. I thought they would never let us out."

"So you were afraid of him? He threatened you?"

"Yes." Al nodded. "He was horrible."

"I see. Well, your honour, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I believe we have seen enough- unless my esteemed colleague wishes to prolong this child's ordeal?" asked Breda, giving the other lawyer a look.

The opposing lawyer quailed under the glares of half the court. "Ah.... no," he said. "No, I think any questions I have can be... answered later."

"Good," said the judge. "Then Alphonse Elric may leave the stand."

Gratefully, Alphonse did just that, following Kray back to his seat and thinking: _I can't believe I just did that.

* * *

_Edward gave his sworn testimony with a certain sense of dread. This was the one part of the trial he had _not_ been looking forward to.

"Edward, would you care to tell us about your first meeting with Officer Archer?"

"He took us in for questioning, we refused to answer without a lawyer and he got angry." said Ed. "He tried to pressure us into talking to him, telling us that we could go to jail for refusing to cooperate with the police. After a while, though, he sent us home."

"Did you feel intimidated by him?"

"To a certain extent," Ed nodded. "As Alphonse said, we were treated like criminals."

"I see," Breda nodded. "Now, could you please tell the court about your time in police custody?"

Edward swallowed. This was it- time to play the pity card.

He bit his lip, and hesitated, as Roy had told him to, waiting for the cue from Breda.

"If you don't wish to talk about it, you can give your testimony later, in a less stressful environment." Breda offered.

"I... I'll do it now. I just want to get this over with." he said. _God, this is so cheesy._

"I... I remember Arch- Officer Archer breaking through the door, and I remember that he threatened to charge us with assault on top of the charges we were already facing. He said we wee being taken into custody for our own safety, but... we were handcuffed and stuffed in a police car like common criminals. It certainly didn't _feel_ like protective custody..."

"And what happened when you arrived at the station, Edward?"

"We were separated," said Ed, trying to look as wide-eyed and innocent as possible. "And- one of the officers- they were going to... they were..." he gave the jury a traumatised look.

"Yes, Edward?"

_Here goes...._

"They were going to take my _automail._"

Breda raised his eyebrows, as Edward had known he would. They had memorised their acts down to the very tiniest details.

"Your automail? Ah, of course... could you please show the court? We will understand if you don't want to of course, but I think it would be a good idea to demonstrate what the removal of your automail would mean."

"Uh... I... I guess so." said Edward hesitantly. He didn't have to act anymore- he really, _really_ want to do this- but he had to. "I... the arm goes up to my shoulder," he said, indicating with his left hand. "The port is here." he rolled up his sleeve and held out the arm. "And the leg... it goes up to mid-thigh- uh, I'll show you..." after a nod from the bailiff, he stepped out of the witness stand and knelt to roll up his trouser leg. "It goes all the way up to here."

"Why did they want to remove it? Did they offer you a wheelchair?"

Edward shook his head. "They just said that they thought I could use it as a weapon. They did offer me a wheelchair, but... I've been in one of those _things_ since I was _ten_," he said with a shudder that was entirely real. "I hate them. Even with a wheelchair, what can I do? I'm missing my arm. I can't even really use a conventional wheelchair... I can't do _anything._ I hate it. I hate it _so much._"

"You were allowed to keep it, though- is this because Officer Archer realised the severity of his actions?"

"No," said Edward, "another police officer intervened."

"I see," said Breda. "Thank you, Edward, that's all I wanted to ask you."

"Does the defence have any questions?"

The defence lawyer looked rather hopeless. The jurors were glaring at him.

He looked from the jury, to Edward, to his client.

"I... no. No, I have not."

* * *

Roy kept his eyes trained forwards as they led Envy to the witness stand, but inwardly, he was smirking. They could've won with Alphonse's testimony alone, really, but Edward had put the clincher on it and now Envy was going to take it home. He, Hoenheim, Riza and Maes probably wouldn't even need to testify the way this was going- even Archer's lawyer seemed to have given up.

Envy looked haggard and tired, but Roy knew that this was an act. He had seen Envy before the trial, and although he had been nervous, he had also been confident. "I can do this," he'd said. "Just watch. That bastard's going _down._"

"Envy," said Breda, "We have already heard from Edward and Alphonse about the way Officer Archer treated you three boys, but there is one detail we have not heard. It says here that Officer Archer threatened you and your brothers. Is this true?"

"Yes," said Envy. "He arrested me based on an incomplete fingerprint found at the scene... he told me that if I confessed, then he would leave Edward and Alphonse alone- and he said that if I didn't, they'd be arrested to, and all three of us would go to jail for... for my mother's murder."

There were audible gasps from the jury.

"Envy," Breda called, silencing the jurors, "Did Officer Archer have any reason to believe that you were responsible for Dante Bolton's murder, apart from an incomplete fingerprint?"

Envy looked up and looked straight over to the defendant's stand, meeting Archer right in the eyes.

"No."

Breda turned to face the judge and jurors.

"Your honour, ladies and gentlemen of the jury- this is one of the worst cases of harassment and abuse of rank that I have ever seen in my career as a lawyer. This young man- who has just lost his mother- and his two younger brothers, who are, if I may remind you, minors, have been threatened and imprisoned at a time when they needed and deserved the full support and aid of the police force. Instead, their case was taken by Officer Frank Archer- a man who has put these boys through what I can only describe as a form of psychological torture. If I may recount his crimes- your honour, ladies and gentlemen- this is a police officer, a man who they should've been able to trust, and instead he arrested them without a warrant, imprisoned them without evidence, threatened to remove a disabled child's prosthetics, and threatened to imprison two innocent minors. Is this the kind of man we want on our police force?"

He looked out across the court room, and smiled.

"I leave the rest to my esteemed colleague," he said, giving the defence lawyer a nod. "I rest my case."

* * *

_Gah, Breda is not... Breda-ish. My excuse is that we didn't see very much of his character and I can't remember what he was like... but he was good at chess, which requires a pretty good brain, so I made him a lawyer. Whoo._

_The next chapter... will be the last, most likely. I feel weirdly proud, but kind of sad too... _

_Please review!  
_


	21. Home

_Wow, last chapter. I feel so... oddly proud! It's kind of hard to believe it's finished, really- I'm definitely going to miss writing this!_

_Before I give you the final chapter of Finding Tomorrow, I have a few people to thank: firstly, everyone who demanded a sequel to Escaping Yesterday. If you guys hadn't asked for it, I'd never have done it- and I'd have missed out because of it. This really has been so much fun to write, so thank you for prodding me into it! Secondly- and lastly- I want to say thank you to everyone who reviewed, everyone who put this story on their story alerts list or their favorites list: to everyone who has stuck with me this far and read all the way to the end. Thank you!_

_I hope you've all enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it- and without further ado, I'll stop rambling and give you all what you're really here to read: the final chapter of Finding Tomorrow._

_I own nothing._

Archer's lawyer did what he could, but it was a lost cause. All the evidence was in the Elrics' favour- the incomplete fingerprint was clearly not of high enough quality to be considered proof, Kimblee freely admitted that they had not had a warrant to arrest the three boys and no matter how much Archer denied threatening the Elrics, it was easy to see that no-one believed him. Every argument the opposition came up with, Breda easily countered, with Roy, Maes and Riza providing backup form the witness stand when required.

Archer was, frankly, doomed.

"I will not allow this case to proceed to jury," said the Judge, a terrifying woman with dark eyes and black dreadlocks beneath her wig. "Officer Frank Archer is found guilty of abuse of power, harassment and misconduct. Envy Elric and the Elric family are to be cleared of all charges against them and will receive compensation for their mistreatment. The only matter left," she looked out over the court, face set in a fierce glare, "is to decide the severity of Officer Archer's punishment, and to discuss the amount of compensation due the Elric family."

Envy had never felt happier or more relieved than he did just then.

_I'm free.

* * *

_

"...One thousand pounds awarded to the Elric family as compensation. Officer Frank Archer, you will be expected to submit a formal apology in writing to the Elric family, and you will be dismissed from the police force due to dishonourable conduct. Further investigation into your career will be carried out, and other charges may be brought against you. Court adjourned!"

As soon as they were out f the court room, Envy pulled his half-brothers in a tight hug, a grin on his face that stretched from ear-to-ear. "You did it!" he yelled joyfully. "You actually got me out! Not that I doubted you or anything, pipsqueak, Al, but... you really, really did it!"

Edward pushed him away, but he was grinning just the same. "Who're you calling short, huh, you girly pot plant?" he asked, elbowing Envy in the ribs, but there was no real malice to it. Not even short jokes could ruin today.

"I can't believe it's really over," said Al. "Envy, we were so worried it wouldn't be enough!"

"Of course it was enough," said Roy, interrupting. "You did brilliantly, all three of you... Nice acting." he added in a conspiring undertone.

"Ah, go away, Mustang," said Ed, "You're ruining the fluffy moment."

"I'd have thought you'd be a little more grateful than that, Edward," Mustang smirked. "But don't worry; I'll leave you to your little family reunion in a minute. I just thought you'd like to know that Maes, Riza and myself have been reassigned the case... and do you know, I simply haven't a _clue_ who might be responsible. Maes is saying it may never be solved... it shall simply have to remain a mystery." he said with an air of mock tragedy.

Edward smirked right back at him. "Really? What a _shame._ Good luck with your case... and thanks." he said, his expression turning warm.

Al went next. "Thank you, Mr Mustang. I hate to think what might've happened without your help."

"Yeah," Envy nodded, giving him a rare sincere smile. "Really. I... just... thanks. Thanks. Officers Hughes and Hawkeye too."

"I'll pass the message on," he smiled at them. "And you three take care of yourselves. If you run into any more trouble like that, for god's sake, get help! It's a miracle it ended as well as it did."

"We know," said Al sincerely. "Hopefully, we shouldn't need to, but if we do... we know not to take it on alone."

"Good." he looked them over appraisingly. "Well, I think I should probably get going. Envy, try not to get involved with any more psychotic relatives, Ed, try growing a foot or two and we might be able to see you, and Al, take care of your brothers- god knows they need it."

"HEY!" Ed raged, but Mustang merely smirked and left. "Why that bastard- I oughta-"

"Boys?"

As one, the three turned- and for once, even Edward looked happy to see him.

"Hi, Dad," he said. And for the first time, he allowed his father to pull him into a tight embrace.

"Am I forgiven, then, Edward?" asked Hoenheim, softly. "Envy? Alphonse?"

There was a brief silence, and then-

"Yeah," said Edward. "I guess you are."

* * *

Edward picked up the last box and, with Envy's help, carried it out to the moving van.

"That the last of them?" asked the driver.

"Yeah!" called Edward.

"And you want these delivered to number seventeen Moor Road, right?"

"That's right," said Al. "Thank you."

"No problem kid. Someone there to unpack them, or am I waiting for you guys to get there?"

"There'll be someone there," said Ed confidently. "Hoenheim Elric."

"Hoenheim Elric, got it. Alright lads, clear out of the way- don't want to hit you on my way out!"

"Okay!" they shut the back of the van up and moved back to the pavement, watching the van containing all of their worldly belongings drive away.

"Who'd have thought we'd be moving in with dad, after all that's happened?" Envy said thoughtfully. Ed nodded in agreement.

"We should probably get going too," said Al. "Dad'll be wandering where we are- we should've been there by now, you know."

"It's not my fault it took ages to pack up," Ed huffed. "It's not like _I_ was the one who got in a fuss halfway through because they'd lost their favourite miniskirt."

Envy whacked him upside the head. "Did not, pipsqueak. I thought we'd lost your automail maintenance kit, actually."

"_Pipsqueak?!_" yelled Ed. "_Who're you calling so short he'd be crushed by his own automail?_ And I seem to remember I owe you for those short insults on the phone, Envy!"

"You _remember_ those? Hey, ow! Pipsqueak! Argh, ow, okay, okay, I'm sorry, I take it back, I take it back- _midget!_"

"Get back here, you demented gender-confused freak!" Ed yelled, chasing after a laughing Envy. Al watched them go, shaking his head fondly at them.

"I guess some things never change," he remarked quietly to himself, and followed his brothers up the road towards their new home.


End file.
